Rebirth
by Bren Moon
Summary: Rebirth is the start of something new and amazing and their is a team of ODST's who survived the entire war with the covenant and now after cleaning up the last few remains of the covenant on Earth they are now reassigned and stationed on the planet Rebirth. Although what they thought would be their peaceful new home turns out to be their new warzone! Hurt/Comfort/Adventure/Romance
1. Chapter I: WAKING UP FROM CRYO SLEEP

**Chapter 1**

**Waking up from cryo sleep**

They say when you're in cryo stasis your frozen and asleep all but the primitive side, all but the animal side. I guess that's why I'm still awake and I want to move but I can't. Currently I am aboard the UNSC frigate the Sapphire Hawk and the reason I am on it is because me and my squad were transferred to the new planet we now control and populate. It' almost exactly like Harvest, Earth, and Reach what happened on Harvest and Reach was unspeakable. Although that doesn't matter much to me and my squad anymore we did our grieving and now were back to following orders.

Now even though I can't see, hear or move I can still think and I've been keeping track and we should be a day away from Mars which has been renamed Rebirth. Most the parts of Rebirth haven't changed from Mars but it's only very few and small remote areas. Luckily for me and my team we were going to be stationed at one of the oldest and finest city's built on Rebirth called Atlantis II. From what we have seen in pictures and heard it is a beautiful well-armed and defended city surrounded by an ocean and on the city had lush green plants and vegetation growing amongst it.

So to put it short we were basically going on a permanent vacation and Rebirth is supposed to be the new Earth after the Covenant attacked leaving it in ruins mostly. So while Earth was being rebuilt Rebirth would hold half the Earth's population and natives of Rebirth. I open my eyes with a jolt of shock and energy as the casing in my cryo chamber hiss's open. As the door slowly opened sliding up out of the way so I could climb out I took a gasp of fresh air. It was a little Ironic considering we were in space but lucky for us we had oxygen purifiers in the ship making our carbon dioxide we released into oxygen so we could breathe.

Unlike others in their cryo chambers I step out and stretch while others fall out of them and vomit or they step out and look around in shock until they remember where they are. As I look around I see the two cryo chambers next to me open and my two squad mates step out. Kelsea Troutt was the first to greet me and she walked over with a smile on her face. Her dark blonde and brown hair flowed like a wave behind her as she quickly walked towards me and embraced me.

I smiled back as we left each other's arms and looked at each other "So how did you _sleep _Kelsea?" She giggled softly the same time I laughed and she gave a shrug. "Well ok I suppose I really couldn't tell since I was knocked out! What about you how did you _sleep_?" We both laugh as I shake my head and reply. "Well I didn't really sleep felt like I couldn't move for what felt like forever!"

As we continue our conversation next thing I know a muscular arm is wrapped around my neck putting me in a choke hold. I was completely oblivious on who it was until I heard a familiar voice. Mike Mcgrain was his name and while he squeezed more I grunted and gasped a little trying to breathe. "How you doing boss?" just so I could reply I elbow Mike in the ribs loosening his grip and I break free then I elbow him playfully. "Doing just fine now without you trying to choking me out." After having our short lived reunion we decided to report to Commander Armstrong for our briefing.

We walked around stumbling a little at first as we quickly regained our balance after being in the cryo chambers for so long. Once we had reached the bridge we were escorted to the Commander by two Marines. As Commander Armstrong turned around to salute us we repaid the respect by saluting back. Then my gaze turned to his Daughter Casie Armstrong I gave her a respectful nod and smiled. For some reason every time I saw her I went into some trance. But suddenly I snapped out of it and looked at the Commander as he called my name.

"Sergeant Wood glad to see you're finally awake. Hopefully you already know we will be at Rebirth in less than a day." I gave a nod before speaking "Yes I know sir and my team will be prepared and fully rehabilitated by the time we reach Rebirth." The Commander smiled and looked at his daughter with caring eyes. "Good to know because I'm giving you a mission of most importance. My daughter here Lieutenant Armstrong will accompany you. She will be your commanding officer on Rebirth."

I looked at my soon to be commanding officer and kept a straight face. Then Commander Armstrong spoke up again "Once your team is on Atlantis II you will not only have to work and protect the city, but you will also have to protect my daughter and follow her orders." I and my squad mates bow our head's respectfully then Lieutenant Armstrong bark's an order at us. "Get your gear and prep yourselves…DISMISSED!" Without any hesitation we walk off heading to the armory.

When we reached the armory the Quarter Master approached us with a grin. "You're Phoenix team right?" we all nod simultaneously and he gestures for us to follow him. "Good I got your gear in storage. If anything is out of order, missing or broke let me know and I'll see what I can do." He walks up to a door and blocks the sight of the keypad as he enters in a code and the doors slide open with a soft hiss and the racket of the gears moving. Once it was opened he moved inside and we followed him all the way down in sections labeled with numbers and letters. Our gear and equipment happened to be in aisle P-027 after that we opened up the door to it and I smiled with joy seeing my armor and equipment intact.

The Quarter Master leave's us as we suit up and load our weapons. It didn't take long for me I just put on my black ODST armor with maroon armor details and for the emblem on the breast plate was a maroon phoenix with a white cog for the background. They others had the same emblem but Mike's armor detail was purple and Kelsea's was yellow. After we had our armor on I pick up my DMR and calibrate the scope on it before loading a mag into it. Then I holster it on my back and I holster my two silenced magnums after loading a mag into them both.

After putting our ODST armor on, loading and holstering our weapon's we were ready to go. But first thing's first for us we had to check and see if our favorite and personal pilot was awake and working on his Pelican. "Kelsea, Mike why don't you two go to the cafeteria and grab something to eat. I'm sure you're as hungry as I am…" Kelsea smiles and gets a head start before Mike, but Mike slaps me on the shoulder with a big grin. "I'll see you there boss." After they turn the corner down the hall I turn and walk in the other direction. Once I reached the hangar I made my way over to our black Pelican with the same emblem on the side.

As I get closer to the pelican I look inside to see no one is there so I step in and walk up to the cockpit to find it to be just as empty. But then I hear the clicking of a socket wrench and I step back out to find our pilot on top of the pelican working on the wings. I smile and chuckle softly to myself seeing him mumble something with the look of annoyance on his face. "Did they mess with your Pelican again Jarod?" I say loud enough for him to hear. He doesn't take his eyes off his work but answers with a smile as he shakes his head. "Yeah don't know why the damned engineers here keep fucking with it. They messed up the rotary of the left wing! I swear they do this sometimes just to piss me off!"

I laugh from his little comments about the engineers as I lean my back on the pelican as I continue to watch him work. "Well maybe one of these day's you can get your own personal hangar?" He scoffed and finally looked at me with grease and oil on his hands and face. "Right…. that will be one of hell of a day." He rolls his eyes with a smile as he went back to work. "Hey would you mind tossing me that flat head screw driver?" without answering I walk over to the tools he had lay out on the table nearby and grabbed the screw driver and tossed it to him.

He caught it without taking his eyes off his work and with a few more clicks, twists, tweaks and turns he had his pelican back up and running. After that he walks out of the cockpit and embraces me by clasping his hand onto my forearm as I do the same. "Glad to see again Brenden so where are the others?" I look at him smiling as I satisfy his confusion with my answer. "Glad to see you again. They went ahead to the cafeteria while I came here to get you." Jarod looked at me wide eyed with a grin. "Mike better not eat all the food before we get there I'm starving!"

We both walk to the cafeteria and we don't see Kelsea or Mike until we get in line and grab our food. Today's lunch was my favorite it was steak with baked potato and gravy on the side with bread. I preferred cooking it myself; Military food wasn't that amazing after all. I devoured the poorly cooked food in a matter of minutes considering I have been in Cryo stasis for a year now. My squad mates do the same but not as quickly as I do since they don't stomach bad food as well. After we ate our lunch it was like a big family reunion as we talked amongst ourselves having a few laughs now and then.

Soon after we ate and we had our short lived reunion we all stood up and spent the rest of our day in our personal chambers. Most ODST team's got one, but we were one of the best so we could've gotten the best. A little spoiled in my opinion although we never aloud ourselves to get any special treatment because we wanted to not only be known as unique and ourselves, but we wanted to be treated like everyone else. As we sat around reading and looking on the computer and playing some card games to pass the time we really had no desire to sleep. We slept way to long so we decided to just stay awake as we made our way to Rebirth.

The next day we were still awake and ready then over the intercom Sergeant Armstrong spoke asking for Phoenix team to report to the hangar. We jumped to our feet and jogged there we always liked being early or on time and once there we saw her standing by our pelican. "Morning everyone!" she said in a cheery tone then went back to her serious look. "We are in the atmosphere of Rebirth and it's time for us to depart and start our new lives. So mount up were moving out!" We stood tall and firm as we saluted her and climbed into the Pelican. I sat on the opposite side by the door next to her as Jarod took his seat in the cockpit and the others two sat across from us. "Alright Jarod get her in the sky!" I say out loud as I bang on the wall four times considering it was protocol letting the pilot know how many passengers they had. As soon as I stopped the pelican floated a foot above the floor as it went out into space. Everything felt lighter and I could feel it but then it went away as we went farther down into Rebirth's atmosphere.

I take in a deep breath as the pelican becomes leveled and the back door opens as I breathe in the fresh slightly salty air. I would get used to it but as I looked out the back of the pelican all I saw was the beautiful, blue ocean reflecting the light of the sun. Then in our headset's I hear another pilot and the sound of falcon's flying next to us. "This is Charlie zero-zero-four requesting identification." I stand up and grab the mesh net above me for support as I stand at the end of the open pelican looking out over the side at the falcons. Then I put two fingers to my helmet at my ear piece as I responded. "This is Trooper zero-nine-six commander of Phoenix team here with Sergeant Armstrong, requesting permission to land!"

They immediately respond without hesitation "Copy that permission granted! We'll escort you the rest of the way Trooper." With a smile I look over my shoulder back at my team and the Sergeant before responding. "Copy that over and out." Then I walk over and return to my seat and within a matter of minutes we had reached Atlantis II and we could see the beautiful utopia in all its glory. Then the pelican gradually slowed down to a halt as we entered the hangar and landed. Once the landing gears were secured we dismounted and escorted the Sergeant to the head administrator and governor of Atlantis II.

He was a big, cheery fellow African and in his prime, his name was Albert Leach. He greets us with a big smile and gives us all a firm handshake. Then as the Sergeant sat down and he did the same the Sergeant looked over her shoulder back at us. "Sergeant Wood you and your team is dismissed. I will call on you when I have orders for you, as for right now go check out your new home spend the day getting to know the city." We salute simultaneously and as we walk out the door I hear the faint start of their conversation. Albert spoke in an almost hushed voice "So about this Phoenix team…." That was all I could make out before the doors hissed and slid shut behind us.

The first thing we did is walked to the elevator and stepped in, when we were inside there was a cadet who would show us to our new chambers. He pressed the button for the third floor and we were there in a few seconds. Then we followed the short scrawny cadet until he stopped at a door. "This is your chambers, the cafeteria is on the second floor and the armory is on the fifth right under the governor's floor sir." Without another word he was on his way leaving us to our own little adventure. Before we walked inside Mike and Jarod stopped and looked at me and Kelsea. "Hey boss me and Jarod are going to go check out the armory. Will see the room later…" I give them a nod letting them know they could go and they were off.


	2. Chapter II: STARTING ANEW

**CHAPTER 2**

**Starting anew**

In the next four days the team had covered more ground in the utopia then the local authorities ever could. It wasn't difficult to learn their way around, but it proved challenging. Each building in the city towered higher than the next reaching for the clouds and beyond. Today the team decided to take the day and patrol the harbor of Atlantis II. Trade was flowing and so was the ever growing population.

Mike walked beside Kelsea they kept their weapons holstered so they wouldn't raise panic. As they walked down the long hall of the harbor and airport that seemed to go on forever Jarod flew outside providing a bird's eye view. Mike looked over at Kelsea and got her attention when he nudged her with his elbow. "So I think I can get use to all this. What about you; what's your opinion on all this?"

Kelsea looked back at him and turned away as her gaze was drawn to the line of people walking through the metal detectors. "Well not sure it's going to take some getting used to. I'm used to the battle field and the sound of gun fire." Mike shrugged as he grabbed his breast plate and adjusted it. "I know what you mean, but I am glad those days are gone. I want to live a normal and simple life again before I joined the UNSC."

Kelsea gave a nod in agreement as she walked over to the many security stations scattered across the place. "I can relate I know its hard doing what we do, but…." Then before she could finish Brenden's voice boomed over the com's "Alright cut the chatter people! Save it for when we get home. Kelsea take a look at some recent or old case files that security couldn't solve. I think it's time we clean this place up a little."

I walked through the crowd of people gently pushing them out of the way as I kept one hand rested on the holster of my magnum just in case. I thought aloud for a second of what Mike and Kelsea talked about. "I can't stand the peace and quiet. It's not what I joined the UNSC for in the first place. Although one thing is nice, at least no one is dying. Lost to many good men and women to the covenant and flood."

Then as I snapped back to reality coming back from my train of thought I could hear a girl crying. I follow the sound of the crying to see a little girl standing by herself in the corner. I walked over and kneel next to her as I take off my helmet. "Hey sweety are you lost?" The little girl nodded and sniffled as she wiped her eyes only to become wet yet again from more tears.

I gently wiped the tears from the little girl's eyes as I pulled her close. "There, there everything will be alright. Who did you come here with?" The little girl sniffles again but the tears slowly begin to cease. "I don't know they were some strange men." I looked at her with sorrow in my eyes. "Alright well why don't you come with me. I'll see what I can do for you." The little girl nodded again as she wrapped her arms around my neck as I picked her up holding her on my waist.

The little girl looks at me "I'm Sasha…" I could only smile as I held her close. "I'm Brenden, so Sasha how old are you and where do you live?" Sasha looked at me "I live on Harvest…or at least I did…and I'm ten years old." My smile immediately faded into a frown as I knew there were very few survivors from Harvest so she must be a refugee. Then as I was about to speak another man cut me off. "Hey what are you doing with my little girl?!" I turned to see a shady looking man with sunglasses covering his eyes.

"I don't think this is your little girl sir you must be mistaken." The man stepped forward gesturing for me to give the girl. "No she is mine!" I looked at Sasha and whispered. "Do you know this man?" She nodded and whispered back. "He is one of the men who took me." I could only nod as the man stepped forward again. "Give her to me now!" I held onto Sasha tight as I unholstered his magnum and pointed it at the man's head. "Take one more step and I put a bullet through your head."

The man took a step back then holding his hands out shaking them. "Whoa buddy look I don't want any trouble ok?" I stood my ground not moving my magnum off the man's head. "Well you got it now." I slowly put Sasha down and put my helmet on and as I held the gun on the man and was about to contact my team Sasha took a hold of my hand and held on. "Mike, Kelsea I need you both to come back me up in section B-5 I got a kidnapper here." Mike was first to reply. "Roger that boss were on our way."

Within a matter of minutes they had reached me and stood next to me. As Kelsea looked at the man she walked over and put his arms behind his back as she cuffed him. "You're under arrest." The man did nothing but swear the entire time as we escorted him to one of the security rooms. Then once we were there Kelsea kept a close eye on Sasha while Mike and I interrogated the man.

The man groans again after another fist lands in his gut. "Tell us who the other men are!" Mike demanded as the man spat on him and received a fist to the face from me. "Better yet tell us are you a kidnapper or smuggler?" The man looked at him and spoke fast. "I'm a smuggler but I'm not telling you assholes anything else." The man begins to laugh before it is cut off with the scream of pain and agony as Mike breaks one of his legs.

"Where do you smuggle the people here?!" The man shook his head not giving up answers. Then as Mike was about to break his other leg he begged and pleaded to no avail as the sound of snapping bones echoed through the room along with more agonizing screams. "Okay! Stop please! I'll tell you everything!" I grabbed a hold of the man's jacket as I got in his face. "Then tell us!" The man's eyes went wide as he begun to spill everything.

Then moments later Mike and I walked out of the interrogation room to be replaced by a paramedic and two gaurds. Then we walked over to Kelsea and Sasha. "Well we know he is the receiver of their operation although sadly we will have to wait a few days before the giver returns with a fresh shipment. As for the people he dropped off last we already got a security team working on that."

Sasha walks over and clings to my side as I wrapped my arm around her. Then Kelsea walks over "What are you going to do about her?" I looked down at her with a smile. "She will be coming with us. I'll take care of her…that is if it's alright with you Sasha?" She smiled and nodded. Then Kelsea crossed her arms "Brenden you can't do that. We aren't allowed to have children with us let alone in our chambers." I looked at her with spite and she immediately went silent. "She is coming with us and that is final. I don't care what anyone has to say about it if they got a problem with it then they can deal with me."

Later that day we were home and as Mike and Jarod played cards Kelsea spent her time going through some of the files she brought with her. As for Sasha it was a tiring day for her so she laid in my bed asleep. I sat on the edge of my bed looking at her as I pulled the covers over her more. I knew this was going to be my new task, it was my own personal task and that was to take care of her.

As I went to get up from the bed I felt Sasha grab my arm with her tiny little hand. I stopped to look at her with a smile as she yawned. "What is it Sasha?" She looked at me rubbing one of her eyes. "Please don't go." I let out a sigh "I'm not going anywhere I promise." Then she propped herself up on her elbows as she looked at me. "Will you lay with me until I fall asleep?"

I nodded as she laid back down and I laid beside her brushing her long brown curly hair out of her face. Sasha scooted closer to me as she rested her head on my shoulder. I laid there the rest of the time as she slept and I couldn't help but smile looking at how peaceful she looked. That was how the day had ended for me and Phoenix team tomorrow would be a new and more challenging day.

The next morning everyone woke up bright and early surprisingly Sasha did as well. Kelsea and Jarod had already eaten and were off to the shooting range. Mike and I along with Sasha sat at the table as they we finished up our breakfast. Mike sat back in his chair as he rested his hands on his stomach rubbing it gently as if he was pregnant and then he let out a loud belch. Sasha and I laughed as Mike looked at Sasha "Man that girl can eat! She might out eat us some day boss!" I just shook my head as Sasha helped me take care of the plates. "I think she is a long shot off from that Mike."

After me and Mike got our armor and gear on he set off to go get the others while me and Sasha went to the observation room. As we entered the room she looked around in awe then her eyes widened as I turned on the projection table showing a 3D holographic image of the map of Atlantis II. I showed her many interesting and fun places I thought would be good for her and told her we would check them out when I have the time.

Then my face became serious as the team walked in and they stood in front of the projection table. "Alright ladies and gentlemen we got all we need to know on this smuggling cartel. Now all we need to do is shut it down and seal it tight." I took my two index fingers on the harbor and airport and pulled my fingers apart as it widened and zoomed in the image of the place for us.

Kelsea stepped forward and pointed towards the docks "The next shipment of people should be coming in less than three hours. An unmarked ship will dock in section C-3 now here we have an advantage but so do they considering they will know the grounds better than us." Then I took charge once again "Jarod we won't need you in the pelican this time I want you on the ground with us. Kelsea you will be with me as we hide high up amongst the cargo crates provide sniper cover and give us a better view. Mike, Jarod I need you two up on the crane ready to jump down on the ship once it's docked and locked down. Once that happens we commandeer the ship and free the people being smuggle get them some proper passports and licenses and wait for the next part of our plan."

Mike and Jarod both nodded and as they walked off Kelsea went to my side and gave me a stern look. "I know what you're thinking Kelsea. Listen no matter what I'm not letting anything happen to Sasha. Now while we go and do this I'm making the chambers off limits to all personnel and she will be fine by herself for a couple of hours." Kelsea rested her hand on my shoulder as she looked at me with her soft compassionate eyes. "You can't hide her forever Brenden, they will find her sooner or later." As I lowered my head and Sasha clanged to me once again Kelsea shook her head and walked off.

Two hours later we were at the harbor and as I walked across the roof of the cargo crate each step made a loud boom. Kelsea looked over her shoulder back at me with an arched brow. "Can you make any more noise?" I could only shrug as I laid down and went prone next to her as I sighted in with my DMR and her with her sniper. "Sorry you know I'm not a very quiet and subtle person." She let out a sigh as me and she both looked up towards the crane. Then I put my fingers to my helmet ear piece. "Jarod you two in position yet? The boat is almost here." Jarod let out a groan through the head piece before replying. "Ugh…give me a second it's a lot harder than you think climbing this thing with jump packs along with our guns, but other than that were almost ready." I nodded to Kelsea as we set our sights on the upcoming boat ready for a battle.


	3. Chapter III: LONG ROAD AHEAD

CHAPTER 3

LONG ROAD AHEAD

Taking out the smugglers as soon as they had docked was pretty simple and it only took two hours. For a decent sized ship the smugglers were a very small group and they were also poorly armed, some had knives. After laying out the dead smugglers on the dock and getting the illegal immigrants off and safe the authorities finally showed. I left the squad for a moment to talk to the chief of police he looked at me with a grin as I gave him a nod with the same grin. "Well Sergeant you did well. We've been investigating this for weeks and you got them in a few days." I sat on the hood of his car as I looked at him. "Wasn't too difficult Sir just got to push a little harder. An about the immigrants… some are hostages and such so do them a favor let it slide and give them a green card."

The chief looked at me puzzled for a second then he had looked at the group of immigrants. He looked at the ground with a sigh before returning his gaze to mine. "Well Sergeant I'll see what I can do, but I will try and help them as much as I can; no promises though…" I stand up and shake the chief's hand before walking off to rejoin the team. Although when I rejoin them Commander Armstrong is amongst them and she walks up to me. "Well done Sergeant Wood, but I'm afraid your job is not done. I sent Corporal Jarod to go get your pelican so you can leave immediately."

I crossed my arms looking at her and knew she would have more to tell. "Alright will we be able to head back to headquarters first to resupply?" The Commander shook her head and looked at me with a stern, brutal look. "No and as for the little girl that was in your quarters she will be locked up until you come back from the mission and explain yourself." I took a step back in shock as if I was being threatened with one of the things that mattered most to me. An I looked upon her in disbelief then anger began to boil in me along with fear to hold it back. I could do nothing but remain silent the rest of the time then when the pelican arrived then Kelsea, Mike and I climbed aboard and the back shut behind us and the last thing I saw was the Commanders eyes.

As we neared the rendezvous point we would meet up with Stallion team. There motto was "get in and get the job done quickly without losing any of their team" They didn't care for anyone but themselves so I was uncomfortable working with them along with the fact they were all women. Once the pelican had landed next to theirs we hopped off and we made our way up to the six other ODST's. Stallion team's leader was the first to address us as the rest of her team stood at attention "Sergeant Wood glad to have you and Phoenix team here. I am Warrant Officer Clark." I shook her hand as my team walked past me to converse with hers.

"Good to know. Now would you mind filling us in on the situation? Our Commander didn't give us any details…" She let out a soft sigh of frustration as she gestured for me to follow as we walked over to the others. She seemed to have little patience which would get her killed at some point. "Complex 64 owned by ONI has gone silent and last we saw when a drone was sent to scout was that it looked completely empty and power was down. It's our job to go in get the complex up and running again and see what happened to the egg heads there."

I cross my arms and look at her and her team as mine stand behind me then I clear my throat before speaking. "So is this a mission for ONI or for the UNSC?" She looks at me for a split second before putting her helmet on. "I don't know and I don't care its nothing to concern ourselves with anyways." Before she walked off I grabbed her forearm pulling her back to look at me as I spoke in a cold, harsh tone. "It is if it involves putting my team in danger!" Just then her team turned to face mine with weapons raised. "Tell your team to stand down Clark!" She looked at me with no emotion as she yanked her arm out of my grasp. "Stand down Stallions! Well Sergeant looks like your taking lead."

As both teams of ODST's lower their weapons I looked at them all as I walked over to the three warthog's that would be at our disposal. "Alright troopers mount up!" I barked the order and Clark's stallions got into their warthog's my team got in their own warthog. Then as I lowered myself into the driver's seat of my own warthog Clark came over and sat down in the passenger seat. We looked at each other and didn't say a word and that's how it stayed for the long ride. The stench of tension between the two teams still lingered in the air for the trip.

Once we had reached the outskirts Clark and I climbed out of the warthog and walked to the edge of a cliff to get a better view of the complex. Clark had a special binocular attachment on her helmet but I settled with using the scope to my DMR. Clark was the first to speak "So you see anything Wood?" I Shook my head and lowered my DMR as I let out a sigh of disappointment and confusion. "I don't see anything but the complex does look deserted. I think it's safe for us to get a closer look." Then we both went back to the warthog and climbed back into our seats.

Then we set off down the cliff into the open red desert and as we reached the front gates of the complex things just didn't feel right. But we pressed on and as soon as we were inside we left the vehicles outside the garage they had. Then we all dismounted from the warthog's. Clark and her team rounded up as quickly as mine did and then she turned to me for orders. "Clark I want you to leave three of your people here to watch the vehicles. Kelsea I want you up in that guard tower to provide them some cover if hostiles show up and things go wrong." As Clark picked and ordered the three she wanted to stay Kelsea had jogged her way to the guard tower and was already scaling the ladder.

Then as Mike, Jarod and I begin to walk off Clark catches up with us with her three other squad mates. When we reached the center building only the echoes of our footsteps could be heard. Everyone had their weapons raised as they looked around. Then Clark walks over to me "I think it would be best if we split up. Me and my stallions will take the elevator up to the third floor and start searching there." I did not answer but simply gave her a nod of approval as I had my eyes locked on the monitors searching the cameras for a clue of anything. But sadly nothing caught my eye so as Clark disappeared with her team me and mine walked into the glass elevator and decided to check the second floor.

The second floor was very high up and once the elevator stopped there I looked through the glass floor of the elevator with a racing heart. "So….did I ever tell you guys how much I hate heights?" Mike only chuckled and patted me on the back as he stepped out and Jarod chuckled as well as he followed behind Mike. "Yes Brenden you've told us before." Then I stepped off the elevator and the doors shut behind us. We lowered our weapons and walked down the empty and narrow hall way and when we reached the end we looked left and right in shock. Both sides we could see the body's of some of the egg heads and security gaurds who work at the complex along with signs of little resistance. What got us the most though was along with the bullet holes in the wall we also saw spikes in the wall alone with plasma residue.

At that moment all three of us immediately raised our weapons and stood on guard. The right side look like they had more bodies of security gaurds and put up more of a fight so that was the way we would head. As we walked down that hall way checking the dead one by one for any vitals so far we had got nothing. An every room we came across along the hall way we did a quick sweep. When we had reached the end of the hall we came across giant steel plated doors with melted security turrets near it. The door was blasted open so as we stepped through the large gaping hole we saw a large glass pillar with a blue plasma beam surging back and forth in it on a metal rod. Jarod stayed by the door making sure no one came behind us as I walked up to the terminal with Mike.

It could clearly be seen they had gotten what they had came for since a few of the consoles nearby were destroyed all but this one. I touched the screen pulling up a file of what was contained here. The file filled us in and what use to be here were the schematics on creating an A.I. I looked down at the many different slots in which a chip would fit and I could see they were empty along with the draw containing spare chips. Mike walked up beside me as he touched the glass pillar "What would the Covenant want with our A.I.'s?" I looked back at Jarod for a second to make sure things were ok before I replied. "I don't know but whatever reason it is they went through a lot of trouble getting it." Mike shook his head as he backed away from the pillar as he walked with me back to Jarod.

As we stepped through the gaping hole again when we got on the other side I put my fingers to my ear piece. "Clark we got conformation the Covenant was here and we got some important info to share with you." I receive no response besides the static I look at the ground as I bang the side of my helmet before trying again. "Clark, do you copy over? We have conformation that the Covenant is here. Clark…? Shit something's gone wrong; come on we need to go find them!" We lower our weapons as we run down the hall ways back to the elevator. We press the button for the third floor and once we reach it we run down a single hall way to find a similar door like the one we found.

"They must've wanted more than the A.I. schematics…." Just then as we stepped through the hole we saw Clark and her team on some terminals and around the room there was the same thing we saw on level two. I looked over at Clark "Hey! Have you even heard anything I have been saying?" Clark jumped a little startled by my shouting. Then she shook her head as she looked up from the console. "No I didn't right now you're in the complex's library of information must be the walls are too thick or they have a communications jamming device in here." I walked down the small ramp to her and when I went to her side she shut down the console.

I looked at her in curiosity as I put my finger on the trigger of my DMR. "Clark what are you hiding? What is your purpose on this mission?" She looked at me then quickly back at her team. One of them picked up a brief case while the other two shut down the consoles and pulled discs and hard drives from them. "ONI sent us here to grab whatever important information and devices we could and bring them back. You're jobs are to search for survivors and get communication's back up and running." As she turned and took a step away from me I raised my DMR and put the barrel to her head. Jarod and Mike went over to the door her team was trying to leave through and aimed their weapons at them. "So you're all spooks working for ONI? Explains why you ladies only care about yourselves! Now hand over the brief case along with those discs and hard drives…."

Clark turned as she faced the barrel "Go ahead and shoot me, but you're not getting any of that it is going to…" I cut her off before she could even finish or speak another word. "The UNSC!" I noticed she was growing furious and impatient as she balled up her hands into tight fists. "Try something beautiful….please….I dare you." Just then I noticed the consoles and wall behind her rippled, but then I quickly recognized the outline of the form. "Look out!" When I move my DMR to the side of her head and shoot two rounds at the elite they just bounced off his shields and then he grabbed Clarks wrist spinning her around as the elite yanked her towards it and impaled her through the torso with its energy sword.

Just then I dropped my DMR and tackled the Elite to the ground as I pulled my knife out and plunged it into the elite's skull. "We got hostiles in the room open fire!" As I reclaimed my knife and tucked it away I slid over to my DMR just in time to save one of Clark's squad mates and another elite dropped. Then I saw Jarod blast a hole through another with his shotgun and head butted another that grabbed his shotgun. Mike just finished stomping and elite's brains as another tackled him to the ground and he blasted clear through it with his silenced SMG. One of Clark's squad mates went down as an elite grabbed her and held her to the wall and put its energy sword through her then it left her there hanging. After unloading my clip into five other elites I pull out my two magnums and open fire on the remaining elites.

After that was over Clark was dead along with one of her squad mates. I walked over to Clark and took her dog tags while Mike got the other. Then we took whatever discs and hard drives they had on them and put them in our packs. After that we stood by the entrance the others escaped through. "Mike, Jarod after them! I'm going to head back the other way to help Kelsea just in case!" They both give me a nod as they start sprinting down the hall way. Then I sprint in the other direction through the hole as I made my way to the elevator. As the elevator began to make its decent three jackals along with an elite began firing at me. I fired a few shots back killing two of the jackals but it was beginning to be too much.

As soon as I reached the second level I looked up and shot the glass floor of the elevator and I fell the rest of the way. "I hate heights!" Then I hit the ground and rolled rising to my feet once more. I slowly backed my way out of the building as I fired at the jackals, skirmishers and elites on the higher levels. When I made it outside everything went to hell. Two of Clark's squad mates where in a warthog driving around mowing down covenant near the gates. The staid by the other warthogs firing at any who came near until a wraith fired blowing her and the warthogs to bits. I took cover behind a column as I put my fingers to my ear piece and watched the other two in the warthog.

"Kelsea I'm here everything alright?" Then I heard the shots of the sniper as a few covenant dropped dead higher above. "Yeah just peachy where are the others?" I watched as two ghosts charged the warthog turning it on its side and the two ODST's fell out of it. Then one elite chased one of them back up into the warthog as she crawled pleading for her life but in reply received an energy sword in the throat. As for the other two skirmishers tore apart and ravaged the other trooper's body. I knew their screams would haunt my dreams for awhile. "They went after two ladies of Clark's team, they are spooks Kelsea! Now get down from there I'll provide you cover fire as you make your way over to me!" Just then I could see her standing at the edge of the ladder. "On it!" But just then a banshee was flying towards her. "Kelsea look out!" She looked up in time to see the banshee as it fired a fuel rod blowing the tower and turning it into rubble.

Luckily when it fired she took the risk and jumped, she survived but hurt herself as I noticed she was limping over to me. I dropped a few more covenant who tried hitting her as she finally got to me. I wrapped my arm around her waist as she leaned on me and used her sniper to support the other side. Then I threw my DMR onto my back as I pulled out one of my magnums. "I think I broke my leg…." I shook my head as I carried her as fast as possible over to the garage. "You'll be fine…I promise." I said to her as we passed the rubble of what was the warthogs and trooper. Once inside I sealed the doors shut and helped Kelsea into the passenger of a warthog. This one had seats in the back in place of where a turret would be. We would need this if we were all to escape. An just then I was wondering how Mike and Jarod where fairing.


	4. Chapter IV: FARTHER FROM HUMANITY

**Chapter 4**

**Farther from humanity**

Mike and Jarod turned the corner of the hall way and began to sprint as they caught up to the other two ODST's just as they reached the elevator. Jarod leapt in time just to grab one by the legs and bring her down. Then as Mike was about to grab the other she grabbed his fore arm and flipped him over her back. He laid on the ground with a silenced SMG pointing at his face and just before she pulled the trigger her brains splattered against the glass door of the elevator. Mike got up looking at Jarod as smoke rose from the barrel of his shotgun.

Then Mike picked up the suit case the girl was wearing along with any other Intel she had on her. Jarod did the same for the other whose neck he had snapped. Once they had got what they chased them down for they walked into the elevator and began their decent. But just like me they ended up in a similar situation with the covenant. They opened fire on the covenant dropping them dead until they reached the first floor. Then from there they ran to the stairs that took them lower down into the base into an underground tunnel which went to the garage. Once they got into the garage they saw Kelsea and me there waiting for them.

When I heard the door open I spun around with my DMR aiming it in that direction to see Jarod and Mike in my sights. Then I lowered my DMR as I walked over to them. "You two are running late. Listen we got to get out of here and let the UNSC know what happened here. Kelsea isn't moving anywhere fast she broke her right leg." Mike then walked past me over to Kelsea as he checked on her then he got in a seat in the back. Jarod looked at me and nodded as he did the same and as I walked over to the warthog and hopped in the driver's seat Mike tapped my shoulder. "Yes Mike?" He lifted the brief case. "I got it boss along with the other Intel they had." I give him a nod of approval as I look forward and pull out my magnum and shoot the control panel and the garage doors begin to open. "Hold on Boys!" Kelsea shouted before the warthog came flying out of the garage landing on top of three unlucky grunts splattering their blue blood everywhere.

As soon as I drove over the grunts I turned the warthog towards the direction of the gate and as it drifted the bumper hit an elite sending it flying. Then I stomped on the gas pedal and begin running over all of the covenant that get in the way. As for the wraith Kelsea shot the gunner and planted three shots where the driver was than the wraith came to a hault. It was a close call for an escape but we drove over the wraith and ended up on the other side of the gate out in the open to our advantage as we made our way back to the pelicans. For some reason none of the covenant pursued us. When we reached the pelicans we immediately loaded up into ours as we took off back to base.

Although to our discomfort Atlantis II was under attack by the covenant and two covenant cruisers along with its flag ship covered most of the city in their shadows. The small covenant fleet was locked in a dog fight with a small band of the UNSC fleet. As we grew closer to Headquarters a UNSC frigate was blasted in half and began to fall down on top of us. Jarod flew the pelican with great skill and little effort as he dodged the rain of debris and rubble of the frigate. But we couldn't dodge it all as the left wing of the pelican was clipped and Jarod tried to stabilize the pelican as we came in for a crash landing two levels below our hangar. Then I was rendered unconscious and woke up moments later to hear the muffled voice of Mike as he grabbed my arm and pulled me out of the wreckage. "Don't worry boss I got you!" When he pulled me to my feet I could just barely make out the shapes of two others as my blurred vision began to clear. I saw Kelsea crouched by the gaping hole where we crashed through and Jarod dispatching a skirmisher who came to near.

I held my head as I walked over to Kelsea as she was crouched on the edge sniping some covenant. I looked out upon the city seeing battles waged on the streets below and banshees, planes and ships having dog fights in the sky as a few buildings burned and slowly fell apart. The wonderful utopia was no more for it was now a warzone. I looked over at Mike as he grabbed the brief case and some extra ammunition while Jarod cleaned his knife and tucked it away. I spoke loud and clear before walking over to the wreckage picking up my DMR "Alright Phoenix team we got some covenant to deal with on our home turf! We need to locate and secure our Commander and the Governor! Jarod, Mike, Kelsea you three go look for the Commander and Governor!" Just as I turned to walk away Kelsea grabbed my shoulder.

"Where are you going Brenden?" I looked back over my shoulder at her. "I'm going to find Sasha…" She pulled me closer to her as we got face to face our helmets barely touching. "Damnit Brenden she is probably already dead just forget about her!" I shrugged her off as I continued walking. "No…I made that little girl a promise and I intend on keeping it." Then she shook her head as she spun around as Mike helped her walk and Jarod took lead. I walked off towards the stair case as I began climbing them up for the next two levels. Once I made it to our level I opened the door to find a few dead marine bodies. I kept my eyes on the sights of my DMR as I worked my way down the hall way towards our chambers when I hear a little girl scream along with the shout of an older woman. "Get away from her!" I opened the door to find Sasha under a table crying and saw an elite ultra holding Commander Armstrong up by her throat.

I aimed my sights on the head of the ultra as he looked at me. "Put her down split-jaw!" The ultra just chuckled as he looked back at the woman. "You humans have such easy lives to destroy…and you're very easy to kill!" Then he activated his energy sword as he impaled it through the Commander. Then the ultra put his foot to her gut as he kicked her off the sword. In a blind rage I yelled in defiance of what I just saw. "No!" Then I charged at the ultra tossing my DMR aside as I tackle the ultra through the glass window behind him onto the balcony. I land a few punches to his torso and face before he back hands me off of him. Then as I stand up and he does the same we stare at each other before charging and with his superior strength he beats mine sending me flying back through the window we flew out of. As I sit up I see him at the window and then he wave's goodbye as he leaps over the railing of the balcony. I look over at Commander Armstrong's body as I crawl over and pull off the dog tags. I hold her body close to me as the threat of tears sting my eyes but I hold back from crying.

Then I heard the weeping of a little girl and I came back to myself as I looked over at Sasha. Her face was red and she wiped her nose as snot was dripping out. I stood up and quickly came to her side as I crouched under the table taking her hand and pulling her close into my embrace. She buried her head into my shoulder as she continued to cry and sniffle. I held her tight in my arms as I stood up and I continued to comfort her as I picked up my DMR. "Don't worry Sasha I'm here everything will be alright…" She continued to cry but was a tad calmer now.

As I carried Sasha out of the room static echoed in the ear piece of my helmet and I heard Kelsea's voice. "Brenden can you hear me? The covenant is trying to jam our signal! We got the governor and we will rendezvous with you on the roof he has his personal pelican we can use!" When I tried to reply back only more static replaced it and I noticed when I touched the ear piece it was partially destroyed probably from the crash. I sighed as I looked at Sasha who had finally calmed down and stopped crying, but remained burying her head in my shoulder.

I took a little bit of time and ammunition but we had finally reached the roof. I cautiously walked to the door holding my magnum in my hand and carrying Sasha in my arm. When I reached the door I knocked on it with the butt of my magnum. "This is Sergeant Wood, open up!" After I said that the doors slid open and two marines grabbed us and pulled us through. Once on the other side they shut the doors and welded them shut there was only five marines at the door and farther out was the governor and the others at the pelican.

I walked up to them pulling my helmet off as I threw it in the pelican. "My head set is busted. Other than that, were fine." Jarod walked over to me taking Sasha from my arms as he set her in the Pelican and she sat next to Kelsea. Jarod turned back to me smiling as he took his helmet off. "Glad to see your ok. Listen we got to leave the marines said they would stay behind while and cover us while we got the governor to safety." I nod as I turned to Mike who was leaning on the pelican tightening the silencer on his SMG. "Yeah boss there isn't anything else we can do and I don't like kno…" Just then he was cut off as the doors exploded and three marines went flying and the other two dropped dead instantly from plasma fire.

At that moment covenant began pouring through then Kelsea and I stayed back dropping them one by one while Mike faced them head on. All I heard him say before I noticed his dog tags in my hand was "Go I'll hold them off! Get out of here!" An apparently Jarod heard it too as he tried running after him, but I grabbed onto him as I dragged him onto the pelican and he struggled with all his strength to get free but couldn't. As the pelican got in the air I looked out the back with Jarod as we saw Mike fight a brute chieftain unloading all he had until he ran out and tried punching the brute. He hurt his hand and shook it then the brute backhanded him sending Mike flying onto the ground and as Mike stopped crawling away we could tell he was looking right up at us.

The brute chieftain handed his hammer to another brute as he went over raising it over Mike. When we looked at Mike he removed his helmet and we saw tears in his eyes, but he had a smile. Then we knew why as he held out a grenade and once that hammer hit him in his back him and the brute exploded never to be seen again. Jarod fell to his knees beside me and I could do nothing but rest my hand on his shoulder as I handed him the dog tags. I sat quietly next to Sasha the rest of the ride and I played with Commander Armstrong's dog tags in my hand and Jarod did the same with Mikes. We both had lost too much today and we knew we were going to lose so much more once the pelican had landed in an ONI complex.

Once the back of the pelican opened a bunch of soldiers dressed in white disarmed us and dragged us out as they held us to the ground. We struggled as much as we could but did not win and then the governor stood before us with Doctor Halsey standing next to him. "Here is the almighty Phoenix team. I believe their Commander is dead so that leaves them to you Doctor…" Halsey smiled and nodded as a marine carried Sasha over who was flailing in his arms. "Ma'am what do you want done with the girl?" The governor spoke before Halsey could. "Put her with the others. We will make her into a Spartan." Just then as the marine walked away with Sasha who cried out my name in fear I struggled even more as I made it to my knees. "Albert, you bastard! What is going on here?!" Halsey walked over and knelt in front of me.

"Your team has been selected to be put into the Spartan program. Spartans are in high demand especially for ONI and you all will be under my command now. Oh and Sergeant I do apologize for your losses." As Albert and Halsey walked away the marines holding us used a tranquilizer and we were all unconscious. Next thing I woke up strapped to an ice cold lab table when I looked out of the corner of my eyes I could see needles one with a yellow fluid and another with a blue type fluid and the third was purple. I laid there knowing there was nothing I could do as the needles drew in closer and all I could think about was Sasha and the others. Once the needles touched my skin I gritted my teeth as the unthinkable pain began as I felt needles in my head, arms, torso, and legs. Once they injected what they had in them my muscles tensed and grew in size and I felt stronger and faster.

Then the metal straps holding me down unlocked and opened allowing me to get up. Once I got to my feet I noticed my height was different as well. I looked at my hands to see if anything else had change just to be reassured and once I was done I walked down a very small narrow hall way that seemed to be my only way out. When I reached the end I saw a set of Spartan armor incased behind glass. I knew it must've been for me so I opened the glass door and put my armor on in a matter of minutes. Once it was on I cracked my neck and knuckles as I rocked my shoulders back and forth getting the feel of the armor. It was standard MJOLNIR Mark VI armor with E.V.A. shoulder pads. Its primary color was steel and the shoulders were maroon. Brought a smile to my face to see ONI knew my taste in looks. Then once I was finished the wall next to the case hissed and popped back as it slid open.

I walked out into a big room to see Halsey standing with my team Kelsea was dressed in MJOLNIR Hayabusa armor the primary was steel and secondary was gold. Jarod stood next to her wearing steel MJOLNIR Mark VI E.O.D. and the secondary was blue but he had a katana on his back. When I approached them I looked at them both cautiously. "So is that you two in those suits?" Jarod nodded as Kelsea crossed her arms "Who else could we be? We aren't your new squad mate that's for sure." Knowing it was them made me feel a lot better and safer. Then I turned my gaze to Halsey. "Why did you do this to us? An where is Sasha?!" She shook her head as she slowly paced back and forth in front of us. "You were chosen just like other ODST's to become the new Spartans and give a revival to the MJOLNIR project. Your team was chosen specifically though because you will be the new protectors of Rebirth. As for that little girl… she will be trained to be a Spartan and…" I took a step towards with clenched fists. "You can't do that she is just a girl!"

Halsey frowned as she stepped forward looking up at me face to face. "I can do that and I will Sergeant now I suggest you learn your place unless you want something bad to happen." Just then I unclenched my fists and stood back with the others as I knew how ruthless this woman could be. I kept looking at the ground the entire time as she debriefed us. "You three have a lot of work to do tomorrow but for now I want you all to eat and rest. Tomorrow you will not leave until night fall and your mission will require stealth so prepare your gear for it." We stood to attention and saluted not out of respect but because we had to and we despised it. When the others got a head start at leaving when I went to follow I heard Halsey's relentless voice.

"Sergeant, I need to speak to you privately! I have something for you…" Just then I turned to see her up close to me once again. An she held out a small chip that glowed blue and then a woman who's face looked like Commander Armstrong appeared on it. "After seeing your mental reports they looked good but to keep you going here is your own personal A.I., we found the Commanders body and I took a small bit of her DNA to create her." The small holographic woman spoke with a sweet voice but one not like the Commanders. "I'm Casie and if you take care of me handsome….I'll take care of you." I nodded as I took the chip and held it in my hand. "Nice name… and I'll be sure to remember that." Then Halsey pointed to Casie. "We made it so now you can not only vocally interact with the A.I., but you can now physically interact with some help and studying from the forunner technology we found on the instillations."

I let out a sigh as I nodded and put the chip into the back of my helmet as I walked away and for some odd reason I knew how to do it. Then I was ever more freaked out when Casie began talking in my helmet. "Oh I think I'm going to like it in here and poke around a bit." I smiled and chuckled softly but uneasily at the thought of her poking around. "Careful where you poke around might not like what you find." Then I could hear her soft laughter. "I already know everything about you besides some personal things I'm learning right now, but I appreciate the heads up." I shook my head as I walked down the hall way with my boots clanking against the metal floor echoing and knew this would be the start of a long and odd partnership and that having her and this suit made me feel a little like a machine and that I was getting farther away from humanity.


	5. Chapter V: GETTING USE TO IT

**Chapter 5**

**Getting use to it**

Since Halsey gave the A.I. known as Casie to me the rest of that day was agonizing and slow. I had just finished my eleventh holo training simulation the enemy; the ONI egg heads chose was the flood which was completely new to me. I chose the difficulty at hardened just to give me a feel for the new suit and for the new enemy. When I walked out of the Holo simulation room I walked over to a bench sat down and took my helmet off setting it beside me. Then as I wiped the sweat from my brow the lights on my helmet flashed and Casie appeared but taller and closer to my height. I looked in shock for a second but then I remembered how special she was compared to others.

Casie sat next to me with a grin on her face as she rested her hand on my shoulder. "So how'd you like the simulation? Pretty sure you weren't expecting all that…"

I shook my head and sighed as I slouched against the wall and laid my head back. "Yeah… never knew about them till now. Do me a favor when we get some free time and tell me all you know about the flood."

She smiled and gave me a wink before vanishing at the sound of footsteps. I looked over to my right to see another Spartan turning the corner. You could tell he was an ODST like me because his armor looked reminiscent to ODST armor, with full black save for a tan stripe on his left shoulder plate, a dark bluish tint to his faceplate and a Tactical/LRP chest plate. Even seems he went so far as to request for an ODST helmet modified with Spartan technology inside it to fit his head dimensions. He also had an actual holster instead of a magnetic plate for his sidearm attached to his hip instead of his thigh. I would have the same but on my thighs only problem is my request didn't go through yet for the holsters.

I looked at him suspiciously as he walked over to me and before he stopped dead in front of me I stood up putting my helmet back on. "Can I help you Spartan?"

He saluted me and then stood to attention. "Sir I'm Gunnery Sergeant Dees. I was told that I would be accompanying your team for the mission tomorrow."

I looked at him up and down before gesturing for him to follow me as we walked down the hall way towards the armory. "No need to be formal Dees and you can call me Wood. I wasn't told there would be other's accompanying us for the mission."

Dees looked at me and shrugged. "Dr. Halsey told me to fill you in on it which is why I am here now. I'm going to be the only one going with you." When we reached the door to the armory we both stopped and turned to each other. "Well Wood looks like this is where we split for now I'm going to head to the weight room need to get in shape. I'll see you tomorrow."

After he walks away and turns the corner I walk into the armory and then I hear Casie's voice. "Well he was interesting…"

I walked over to a work bench and sat down as I took my DMR and began disassembling it. "I'm sure since I bet you've already looked at his file."

I heard her giggle before letting out a soft sigh. "You know me so well already. Anyways want me to fill you in on him?"

I grabbed the barrel of my DMR as I took a rod with a clean cloth and pushed it through and continued the process as I cleaned the barrel. "Give me all you know on him."

After cleaning the barrel I set it down amongst the other pieces and rest my hands on my thighs as I listen carefully to Casie. "Well here is his history for starters. He joined UNSC Marine Corps after spending a year in an Officers Academy and decided four years was too long to wait to go to war with the Covenant. After boot camp his scores were high enough to automatically make him an E-2, primarily due to his high academic skills, his ability to improvise and adapt on the training operations and his extremely high marksmanship scores with the M392 DMR rifle. Serving three years in an infantry/guerrilla warfare unit he made it to E-5 before transferring to the ODST Corps, where he was knocked down to an E-2 and thrown through hell on earth for eight months. He used his excellent shooting skills and his expert knowledge on guerrilla warfare to land him in some major operations with the ODST's. During the next eight years he was put under three different squads and was the only survivor in all three squads. This has given him a sense of survivors guilty, which he has mostly overcome but occasionally haunts him, his greatest nightmare being an experience in the jungles of a planet where he tried to save his best friend from a trio of Brutes and killed two of them before his friend was gored through by a Spiker. After an op gone wrong as his third squad was killed, he survived in the forests and mountains for three months before being retrieved by ONI and Dr. Halsey deemed him a suitable candidate for the Spartan- IV program. Oh and his full name is Geoffrey Kuribayashi Dees, everything else is classified and covered in black, but I can hack into it if you want?"

I shook my head as I reassembled my DMR and calibrated the scope. "No that's fine Casie I got all I need to know. Anything I don't I will find out." I knew he was going to be a replacement for Mike and that bothered me. Our team didn't need a replacement, but ONI thought we did. I let out a sigh of frustration as I finished calibrating the scope and slid the DMR onto my back. I knew things would be rough for awhile as I got up from the workbench and went over to pick up some extra ammo Kelsea walked in.

She looked walked over to me and sat on the table next me and leaned back using her hands to prop her up. "I got some bad news for you."

I looked at her as I leaned on the table next to her. "Spill it tell me what you know about Sasha."

She looked at the ground unable to look at me as she filled me in on her findings. "They already put her through the first test… she passed and now they got her sitting in a chamber for a week at the least I believe. They are still prepping the next test for her and the group of children she is training with."

I slammed my fist down on the table leaving a huge dent as I took a step back and held my head. "Damn we got to get her out of there! No child should have to go through that… any of that! She is my responsibility I promised her I would take care of her and keep her safe!"

Kelsea walked up behind me and hugged me as she attempted to calm me down. She succeeded and once I was calmed she convinced me to come with her to watch Jarod train with his new katana. When we made it into a different holo training simulation room we got to relax in the observer's room. I looked down below to see Jarod running, spinning and cutting his way through a bunch of flood with his katana. He seemed to be enjoying it too and when I looked down at the monitor he was on his sixth round I leaned over the monitor to get a better look at Jarod as I spoke to Kelsea. "How's he been doing with it so far and with the new enemies?"

She walked over next to me and reached under me to press a button on the monitor. Then Jarod's statistics show up on the screen and they looked amazing. Also it showed his most used weapon was the katana and that made me laugh. Then Kelsea just giggled a little. "He's been doing just fine and for both of us with the flood it freaked us out same thing with the promethean's. I never even knew there were things like that out there."

I shrugged as I turned to her. "Hey before this war ever started I never believed there was such a thing a covenant. Guess there is more than just us out there." As I walked away towards the door I heard Kelsea's voice trail after me. "I know… and sometimes… that's what scares me the most."

I looked down at the ground as I walked out the door and made my way to our quarters. Once there I walk over to my bed and lay down. I remove my helmet setting it on the foot locker by my bed.

Then Casie appears once again and sits on the bed. "Don't worry everything is going to be fine. Just so you know since Halsey made me doesn't mean I serve ONI or work for them. I was made for you and I work for you. Guess you could say I'm your soul mate…" She giggled softly as she laid down next to me.

Then I sat up and looked over my shoulder at her. "Nice to know and your a flirt you know that?"

She smiled with delight as she nodded and stretched covering the entire bed. I just shook my head from being annoyed and continued to just sit there as I looked down at my hands.

Casie frowned sadly as she sat up and rested her chin on my shoulder and whispered to me. "You'll learn to trust me one day." Then as I looked back over my shoulder she was gone.

I laid back down on the bed after that and went to sleep. The next day I woke up in the afternoon to see Jarod up and about sharpening his katana off the metal plating on his fore arm. I sat and noticed Kelsea was asleep herself and it made me smile seeing the team was doing ok. I stood and walked over to Jarod and noticed Mike's dog tags tied to the hilt of the blade. Then my smile faded as he looked up at me still sharpening his katana. "How are you feeling Brenden? You went to bed early yesterday without telling anyone."

I looked down at the katana as I leaned against the wall. "I'm fine and I see you're starting to get use to that katana."

He nodded as his gaze returned to the blade. "Yeah I like it… got to do something to keep my mind occupied since I don't have a pelican to work on or…" He rested the katana on his legs as he lowered his head and choked on his words.

I rested my hand on his shoulder as I shook him gently getting his attention. "We're all going to miss him Jarod. He was a brave and outstanding trooper."

Jarod nodded and returned to sharpening his katana. "You go on ahead I'll wake Kelsea up and will join you. I'm sure you want to get your gear ready for later."

I sighed and patted his shoulder reassuringly as I walked over to the bed picked up my helmet and put it on. Then I walked out the door, down the hall way to the armory. When I reached the armory I ran into Dees once more and he was here for the same reason as I saw him putting silencers on his weapons and grabbing every grenade we had at our disposal. I walked over to the Quarter Master and he handed me a small grey plastic case. I carried it over to the workbench and opened it pulling out all the silencers and attaching them to my weapons. With the final silencer going on one of my magnums I give it a twirl and it spins on the magnum until it stops. I twist it to tighten and secure it before attaching it to my magnetic plate on my thigh.

Then I walked over to the ammo crates opening one of them as I pulled out a few magazines of ammunition putting them on my person along with two frag grenades and two smoke grenades and one red, burning smoke flare. Once I had all my gear equipped Jarod and Kelsea walked in as Dees took his place next to me. "Jarod, Kelsea this is Gunnery Sergeant Dees he will be accompanying us for the mission." They both looked at him then at each other and walked off to do what they came here for. They all knew what Dees coming with them meant and none of them liked it. After everyone had their equipment ready and assembled we made our way to the hangar. Then we walked over to the pelican and climbed in. Once I sat down the hatch in the back of the pelican shut and we could feel it hover up into the air and fly off.

Then once again I could hear Halsey's voice but in my helmet this time. "Alright Phoenix team it will be a few hours until you get there but enjoy the ride. Now your mission is to enter a military compound in Atlantis II I'm sure your familiar of where it is. You are to go in there clean the hard drives of recordings and Intel of what the covenant have been up to. Then you can resupply there and recapture the compound. A UNSC frigate with rendezvous on your location and deploy troops to control that location. That is where you leave and then set off to the building where your team was staying at along with the Governor and Commander. That is where you will acquire more Intel which will be in the building's main hard drive in the basement. There you will also retrieve samples of blood we have on each covenant."

After that we hear the com's clicked letting us know she was off and Kelsea spoke. "So we are basically her errand runners?"

I leaned against the wall of the pelican drowning out the noise of everyone. I could hear the muffled voices of Dees and Jarod as they talked with Kelsea. Then Casie popped up in the top left of my screen. "I closed the communications and sealed your helmet so no one can hear you temporarily."

"Thanks… let me know when we get there." As I shut my eyes Casie interrupts and I open them again.

"You're welcome, but I can tell something is bothering you. What's wrong?" She asked sweetly and softly with a sympathetic look in her blue eyes.

"A lot is wrong… I lost Commander Armstrong, Mike, the city and Mike is being replaced so soon. Oh and I have to deal with an annoying A.I. who keeps hitting on me." I close my eyes again quickly and try to rest as I become frustrated.

"I'm sorry… Wood" Then I heard the soft humming of her voice as it calmed me and I drifted off to a light sleep. The last thing I heard from her before she returned to her humming was. "You'll get use to it."


	6. Chapter VI: FEET FIRST INTO HELL

**Chapter 6**

**Feet first into hell**

I woke moments later to the sound of explosions and gun fire as the fight still raged on in the streets and skies of Atlantis II. I stood up and then on the visor of my helmet the radar, shields, ammo and grenade limit appeared along with the alert that all systems were online. I grabbed onto the mesh net above my head as I looked by the door of the cockpit to see two unconscious pilots. I walked to the door and opened it to see Jarod flying the pelican. "So what happened while I was out Jarod?"

He looked over his shoulder for a second before turning back to lower the pelican in an abandoned parking lot. "Those fucking cowards wouldn't fly any closer to where we need to be we we're half way across the city until I took control so now I got it so we only have to walk down the street and past the road block."

I chuckle softly and smack him on the shoulder as he landed the pelican with ease. Then he and I walked back out to join the others as the hatch to the back of the pelican opened. We quickly checked and sorted our gear before hopping off then Dees hit a lever on the outside of the pelican to seal the hatch shut making sure the pilots stayed safe while they napped.

We walked to the corner of the building and peaked around to see a fortified gate with covenant patrolling the outside while a wraith sat in front and while two grunts relaxed in two plasma cannon nests. I turned to the others as I gave them orders. "Dees, Kelsea you two go by roof top and fire on my mark. Jarod you're coming with me while we deal with them head on."

Immediately Kelsea and Dees ran the opposite direction and turned the corner as I knew they were getting into position. Then Jarod and I snuck across the street to the other side as we went down an alley to the other street out of sight. We casually walked down the empty street and met a small covenant patrol. They were killed in a matter of seconds without them alarming the others. Once we reached the opposite side of the street at the gate we noticed Kelsea and Dees up on the roof. I pulled out my silenced DMR and signaled for them to fire. Immediately they disposed of one patrol and the two plasma cannon nests. Then Jarod and I ran hopping onto the wraith and as Jarod bashed the door open I disposed of the last patrol and used my last bullet on the skull of the elite driving.

Once all enemies were disposed we opened the gate and walked into the military base. Kelsea and Dees joined us inside and then suddenly the gates seal shut behind us and a plasma grenade is thrown next to us. We run and dive behind some desks as a barrage of plasma fire heads our way. We return fire at nothing so they must've been elite commandos using camouflage. I shouted out before hiding behind the desk to change clips. "I can't see them can any of you!?"

Kelsea and Jarod shouted simultaneously "No!"

Then Dees suggested something. "Why not throw some flash bangs or EMP grenades?! It'll work and either makes them stumble or deactivate their camo!"

"That'll work just fine!" Jarod shouted as he threw two EMP grenades and then I followed along throwing my two flash bangs.

Immediately the elite's camo deactivated and we could see ten or more hostiles in the room. We took the advantage while the elite's stumbled trying to keep balance while they covered their stinging, and pulsing eyes crying in fury and agony. We quickly slaughtered them like helpless pigs and then we moved on into the armory of the base and restocked on ammo and Dees carried a rocket launcher and Jarod carried a Spartan laser.

We I waited outside with Dees while Jarod and Kelsea went to get our pelican and the pilots. As we waited we saw five pelicans land in front of us completely packed with Marines except for one that had all ODST's. It brought a smile to my face remembering my old armor and not having to work for ONI. An the UNSC frigate loomed over the base and for a moment it seemed like night time under its shadow. A Gunnery Sergeant approached me and we saluted each other. "Well done Spartans! We can handle things from here. I believe you got more important business elsewhere…" I nodded and just walked off without saying a word while Dees hanged back for a moment.

Dees looked at the man. "This is a key location to winning back Atlantis II! Do not lose it again whatever the cost!" Dees then jogged a bit as he rejoined me by my side.

"Let's get this over with…" I said coldly as I looked at Dees and Jarod and Kelsea arrived just in time with the pelican as they landed in front of us. We climbed aboard the pelican to see the pilots were long gone. "Hey Kelsea what happened to our pilots?"

She looked up from cleaning the barrel of her sniper. "They were idiots who climbed out of the pelican and were squashed like a pancake by two hunters. Jarod and I took care of them…" She then returned to her sniper as she ran the rag on the sniper.

"Damn shame…" Dees shook his head as he leaned on the wall of the pelican as we took off.

After a while of flying we were almost back at our old headquarters I began to think about the A.I. an how harsh I was to her. "Casie… I'm sorry. Look we are going to be together at least until I die so we need communication and I need to trust you."

Just then I heard her sweet soft voice. "I know and we can work on that. So what do you need Wood?"

"Call me Brenden from now on. I also need schematics on our old headquarters lower levels and I need you to do a life sign scan on the building." I said got up and grabbed the mesh net above me.

"Alright Brenden I'll see what I can do." She said with a smile as her image showed up on my visor.

By the time we had reached the old headquarters we stepped off the pelican and while the other walked towards the staircase to take them down I stood by the small black crater on the roof. Terrible memories of Mike's death flashed in my mind and were so vivid and real. Then my name was called and I snapped back to reality.

"Brenden you ok?" Casie then popped up on my visor again.

I sighed and shook my head to focus as I followed Kelsea, Dees and Jarod. "Yeah I'm fine. So did you get what I asked for?"

She nodded and spoke in a hushed tone like someone could've been listening. "I got it and I am not picking up any life signs. As for the schematics they won't be the same do to the damage, but it'll do. Uploading it to your HUD now and the others."

We made it down to the tenth floor after a while and we came across our old crashed pelican. Jarod walked over to it patting the big metal machine with a saddened look to his movements. "I'm sorry old girl. I wish you were still in the sky…" Jarod sighed and rested his head on it. "Go ahead guys give me a minute. I'll catch up."

I nodded and then Kelsea and Dees followed along. We continued our journey down until we reached the lobby. We stopped and looked around and then I turned to Dees. "Dees stay here and make sure no one comes behind us."

We then left him in the lobby as we went to a door leading to the sub-basement. We walked down there and immediately got cold as the machines and data bases down there were kept cool and wouldn't over heat. Kelsea stood there shivering while I walked over to one of the tall towers and pulled the A.I. chip from the back of my helmet and put it in the tower. Then Casie appeared next to me and had a holo screen in front of her as she got all the important data. "Hey Brenden you won't like this, but check it out."

I looked over and saw on that little screen a video of Sasha in one of the tanks they held new Spartans in. I clutched my fists, then plunged my fist into the tower next to me and pulled out some circuits. "Where is she?!"

Casie looked at me with concern. "She is still at the same ONI facility you were at before we came here. The Intel in these data bases keeps getting updated so I could receive almost everything."

I shook my head as I pulled the chip and put it back in my helmet. "That won't be necessary Casie. We got what we came for now let's get out of here so I can get her back." I walked past Kelsea and she quickly pulled out a detonator and threw packs of C4. She then rushed past me up the stairs and I chased after her. As we reached the top of the stairs it was too late as I tackled her because she had already pressed the button on the detonator and the building shook slightly and a large boom could be heard as flames shot up from the stair case. "What the hell did you do that for Kelsea?!" I pulled out my magnum putting it to her head.

She then pulled her helmet off looking extremely pissed. "Those were my orders to do that not yours! I was given my own agenda as I came along with you! Now get the fuck off me!" As I put my magnum away and stood to my feet she put her helmet back on and contacted Jarod. "Bring in the Pelican we are leaving!" She barked viciously.

I walked over to Dees furious with Kelsea. "Come on Dees where going…" Then as we walked outside Jarod showed up in the Pelican and we boarded it on our way back to the ONI facility which we still had no clue on where it was, but Casie gave us directions. Once we returned we climbed out and handed all the Intel that was gathered over to some ONI eggheads and then made our way to the barracks. There we stayed and slept the rest of the day except for me. I woke up before the others and snuck out with Casie to go find and rescue Sarah and escape. I remained in the shadows as I made my way around and through the facility to a section where Spartans were not allowed. I entered the door only to stand there in horror and find thousands of children in the encased beds. I ran down the lanes for a few hours until I found her. I quickly smashed the glass not hesitating only to have her wake up frightened.

"Who are you?! What do you want?!" Sarah crawled back in the bed terrified. Then I removed my helmet and she saw me and smiled as I helped her out of the open gap I made without her getting hurt. She held onto me tight. "I thought I would never see you again…"

I smiled and held her back just as tight. "Never think that… I made you a promise and I am keeping it." As I carried her out of there and walked down some halls I entered the courtyard where we would make our escape.

Sadly though Kelsea was there and stood in the middle fully armored and holding her sniper. "I suggest you put the girl back and return to bed."

"Kelsea what are you doing? Listen come with me and get Jarrid we can leave this life behind!" She only stood there until she aimed her sniper at me.

"Ever since we came here and I became a Spartan I've been an agent for ONI and I take their orders not yours. I was only with you for this mission because they wanted me to baby sit you three. Now put the girl down and step away or take a bullet between the eyes." She said with a foul tone and little emotion.

"I won't and can't do that Kelsea." I then pulled out one Magnum and pointed it at her. "Don't make me do this." I said as I put Sarah down and pushed her in the direction of some crates to hide at.

"To late…" Kelsea then pulled the trigger and luckily for me I was fast enough to roll out of the way of the shot and fire back pulling out my other magnum as well. She quickly ran as my bullets hit the wall just barely hitting her back as she ran and she returned fire making me roll to dodge each one. Then my magnums went empty so I put them back and charged at her still dodging some shots. Once I came into melee range I pushed her sniper aside and went to punch her in the head with my other hand only to end up with her blocking. She then grabbed my shoulders pulled me close and kneed me in the gut. I groaned in pain, but kept fighting as I gave her and upper cut and she stumbled back quickly shook her head and ran at me and I flipped her over my back and slammed her into the ground.

I went to punch her in the chest with great force, but before I came close her foot met my head and I held my head before falling from her kicking my legs out. Then she was on top of me throwing punches as I held my arms up to guard my head. Luckily I grabbed one of her arms and blocked the other giving me time to head butt her. Then I threw her off and rolled back up onto my feet, but to my disappointment I threw her right next to her sniper.

She quickly picked it up and aimed at Sarah. "Bye bye bitch."

"No!" Right as I leaped towards her she had already pulled the trigger and I a landed on top of her I took her sniper and hit her in the head with the butt once stunning her. Then I got up and ran over to Sarah sliding next to her lifeless body on my knees. I immediately broke into tears and broke down as I saw her head clean off her shoulders. What were left were bits and pieces scattered on the ground and crates.

A few minutes passed before I snapped out of it when Dees grabbed my shoulder pulling me to my feet. "We need to go now!"

Next thing I know I was running beside him through the jungle of the island the facility was on. I could hear the shouting of Kelsea and some other female and a male Spartan behind me along with the facilities alarms. Dees and I stopped when we reached a cliff with a waterfall. Dees looked to me for guidance and by the look of him he wanted an immediate answer. I nodded and looked back down. "Feet first into hell!" I shouted before jumping off the ridge into the water below and I could hear the shouting of Dees following me down.

SORRY FANS FOR NOT POSTING IN ALONG TIME! REAL LIFE ISSUES HAVE HURT THE POSTING TIME OF MY STORY SEVERLY! But things are back to normal and I will be posting regularly every week and a half now!


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